TV: Aardman Animations and STUDIOCANAL to partner on SHAUN THE SHEEP

STUDIOCANAL are to team up with Aardman Animations who will produce the movie debut of one of their most popular animated characters - SHAUN THE SHEEP.

First seen in the Oscar winning short film A CLOSE SHAVE, the world’s most famous sheep and his flock have been enthralling TV audiences in over 170 countries and has proved to be one of the studios most popular and endearing characters.

The film will be shot in Aardman's trademark style of stop motion animation and is written and directed by Richard Starzak (aka Golly) and Mark Burton.

STUDIOCANAL is financing and will distribute the film in UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand and handle international sales.

Synopsis: When Shaun’s mischief inadvertently leads to the Farmer being taken away from the farm, Shaun, Bitzer and the flock have to go into the big city to rescue him, setting the stage for an epic adventure.

Olivier Courson, STUDIOCANAL Chairman and CEO said ”We are so thrilled to join the Flock! Shaun is a character you love at first sight whatever your age. We are really happy to work with Aardman, it’s such a talented team!”

David Sproxton, Executive Chairman and co-founder of Aardman says “Shaun and his friends have a massive global following and we very excited about being able to put them into a bigger adventure for the big screen. We are naturally also very excited about partnering with STUDIOCANAL for this project, their track record and expertise in international film financing and distribution seems a perfect fit.”